Hawaiian Shares Jump as Carrier Is to Join S&P SmallCap 600

Hawaiian shares got a boost Wednesday because the carrier will join the S&P SmallCap 600 index after the close of trading Thursday.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Hawaiian Airlines (HA) will join the S&P SmallCap 600 following the close of trading Thursday.

Hawaiian shares rose 8.8% on Wednesday to $25.17, leading the airline industry. Year to date, Hawaiian shares are down 3.4%.

On Thursday, just after the opening bell, Hawaiian shares were down 1.5% to $24.79.

Hawaiian's move is part of a musical chairs session in the index world.

S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a part of McGraw Hill Financial, said S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) will replace Exelis (XLS) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Hawaiian will replace Bank of the Ozarks in the S&P SmallCap 600.

This is all because S&P 500 constituent Harris Corp. (HRS) is acquiring Exelis in a deal expected to be completed before trading opens on Friday.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.